I've recently finished my second novel, Madame Matisse, about the women who were integral to the life and art of the French artist, and the ultimatum at the heart of his marriage. My debut novel was about the scandalous Austrian artist Egon Schiele, who was famous for his radical nudes. I enjoy talking about art, censorship, the lives of women in history that would otherwise be forgotten... I've recently taken on a new role as curator of a literary festival in the UK, so I'm thinking about what makes one dynamic and engaging. What do you think?
I'm curious to hear what you have to say, and where our conversation might go...
Amid an opulent society living under the shadow of war are four muses, women whose bodies were shown in intimate detail, depicted by the charming yet controversial artist Egon Schiele. Adele, his passionate and fierce admirer; Gertrude, his sister who survived their blighted childhood but is possessive, single-minded, and jealous; his mistress Vally, a poor young woman from a bad background but with steel at her core; and the two, very different, Harms sisters, Edith and Adele, both of whom vie to become Schiele’s wife.
Over the course of little more than a decade, the four women risk everything—their reputations, their most precious relationships, and their sanity and souls—as they try to hold on to the man they adore. As World War I throws their lives off course forever, and the Spanish influenza pandemic ravages Europe, threatening everyone in its path, one question remains: Will any of them emerge unscathed from their relationship with this man? Sophie Haydock’s The Flames reimagines the intertwining lives of these women: four wild, blazing hearts longing to be known. In an elegant Bohemian city like 1900s Vienna, everything seems possible. But just as a flame has the power to mesmerize, it can also destroy.
“Egon Schiele’s life is revealed through the eyes of the women around him. His single-minded pursuit of his art and his callous self-indulgence lead one of them to madness, another to self-mutilation and an early demise. Yet all pay tribute to his talent.”
― The New York Times Book Review